There are two upcoming paranormal romance releases that I cannot wait to get my hands on:

1. Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz). Basic plot: A powerful ghost-hunter fights to claim his runaway fiance.

I’m a HUGE Jayne Castle fan. She’s written a few stories about the intriguing world of Harmony (Bridal Jitters, After Dark, & After Glow ), and I am really, really looking forward to this installment.
Release Date: May 30, 2006

2. Dangerous Tides by Christine Feehan. Dangerous Tides is the latest release in the Drake Sisters’ saga (seven sisters with magical powers). This time, Dr. Libby Drake–the sister with the amazing gift of healing–gets her chance to find love. Release date: June 27, 2006

I just found out that Secrets, Volume 16 (featuring my novella, Never Enough) got 4.5 stars from the Romantic Times! I am thrilled! And so very, very happy to be included in a volume with the talented Chevon Gael, Sheri Gilmore & Charlotte Featherstone.

Even if it sometimes feels that way.

I have a few friends that I think would be exceptional romance writers. They’ve got great ideas, great grammar skills (cause, yeah, that’s important, too!), and they share a true love of the romance genre. One friend recently told me that she didn’t want to submit her work, because she was afraid a publisher would reject her.

Ah, rejection–that ugly publishing witch that folks don’t like to talk about.

The unfortunate fact is that most writers will be rejected at some point in their careers. Doesn’t mean the writing itself isn’t good; heck, sometimes it just means a story didn’t fit with a house’s schedule/line. But, well, rejection…it’s definitely something that hurts a writer–no getting around that.

Yes, I’ve been rejected before, and, yes, I’m sure I’ll be rejected again. But I’m also sure that no matter how many rejections I get, I’ll keep on writing. And, I’ll be in pretty good company:

Louis L’Amour–super famous western writer of more than 100 novels–received 350 rejections before he made his very first sale to a publisher.

Gone With the Wind–that epic classic–was rejected by more than 25 publishers.

Before selling his first story, Jack London got–are you ready for this?–600 rejection slips.

Chicken Soup for the Soul was turned down by 33 publishers in New York. (By the way, here’s a little known me fact: My first publishing credit was for a Chicken Soup story.)

The moral of this post? Rejection can happen to anyone. Doesn’t mean your story is bad. Doesn’t mean you should never write again. Actually, it just means that your story hasn’t found its perfect home, not yet. It means that you merely need to keep trying.

(And I got all these lovely rejection facts from one of my favorite, truly inspirational writing books, Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life.)

For a while now, some authors have been using book teasers and book trailers to promote their books. Sometimes, I really like the trailers (I’ve enjoyed Christine Feehan’s), and sometimes, well, sometimes they make me wince. So, of course, in light of my mixed feelings for them, there is only one thing for me to do: Make my own trailer.

Ahem. Yes, I’m going to try and create a trailer of my own that I like and thus, will hopefully not make me wince.

I would try to get a professional to do this for me, perhaps Circle of Seven Productions because they’ve done some nice trailers. But, well, that would be too expensive for my current budget.

And, when things are too expensive for me, then I have to get creative.

Luckily for me, I’m married to a guy who knows quite a bit about technology and about making movies. Back in the day (God, I love that phrase!), Nick and his buddies Brad and Derek made comedy movies/shows and they aired them on our local cable access channel. One thing that always impressed me about those shows: They had great production quality. So, I can get Nick to help me with the filming of my trailer. And with all the post-production work as we get it ready to show on my website.

My good friend Ashley has agreed to play the role of my female lead in the trailer. Ooohhh…it is so nice to have friends that will do crazy stuff for you!

I’m going to try and come up with a story board for my book trailer (by the way, the trailer will be for The Wizard’s Spell) this evening, so I can show it to the guy I want to play my hero. He’s not quite as willing to jump in without any questions as Ashley is, so I have to show him my plan first.

Ah, yes, the plan. Really gonna try to get that going. So, stay tuned, and I should have a trailer for you in a few weeks!

Wish me luck–I really think I’ll need it!

David Blaine is at it again–this time, he’s living underwater for a week (in front of NY’s Lincoln Center), and, at the end of his underwater week, he’s going to attempt to hold his breath for nine minutes (thus breaking the old breath holding record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds).

On May 8, ABC will air “David Blaine: Drowned Alive” so that viewers can tune in for the dramatic conclusion (which will feature the 9 minute breath holding routine) of David’s stay underwater.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: David trained with the Navy Seals in order to prepare for this stunt.